I like the tool, and think once I figure out my first form, I will like it even more. (I did pay the $25)
I am using Joomla 1.5.8 and IE 7.0
1) I go and create a 20 field form and then hit the "save" button and then it kicks me out of joomla and doesn't save the form. Any ideas?
Kinda bugs:
1) In the Form Wizard, sometimes it does not drop the object where you expect them to be dropped.
Wish list:
1) Form Wizard, would like to move/rearrange the objects.
2) Form Wizard, An "Apply" button to be able to save the for mid stream so I don't have the error above.
3) Form Wizard, Phone number validation, with some sort of format pattern box ie (###)###-####
4) Form Wizard, Zip Code pattern matching #####-#### maybe 2 options #####
5) Form Wizard, import an image. ( See I can do it via the HTML)
Hi pgruhn,
The 'kicking out' problem sounds like some kind of a JavaScript problem. I don't recall seeing it reported before. Have you tried a different browser? If not then FireFox or Chrome are worth a look.
The Form Wizard placement does have a knack to it, you have to drop the new boxes in the bottom margin and that can be a bit tricky. And you have to be ultra-careful not to click a submit button before the form is saved. Max is re-coding some of the Wizard for the next release.
The two validations can be added as custom validations fairly easily. (Neither has any meaning outside the USA/North America so they don't live there by default.)
Bob
Sorry Greyhead - I have to agree with this poster. the form wizard has one of the most frustrating interfaces I've ever dealt with. I just created 3 forms that I was kicked out of without any being saved.
When I try to modify the Submit button by typing the word 'hand'' in the tooltip box. I am kicked out of the wizard and back into the form manager without it saving anything after typing 'ha'. What is the correct syntax to enter in the tooltip box? - it shouldn't kick you out regardless. Maybe a dropdown would be a better choice here.
When you do click Save, you are booted out of the wizard into the form manager, and there is no way to continue editing your form in the wizard - you have to use the more geeky form wizard interface. There should at the very least be an apply button, so you can save your changes before exiting the wizard.
I found myself copying the html blob from the form manager into dreamweaver to format it for legibility before pasting it back in. otherwize my head spins trying to fix the things the wizard didn't let me finish.
If I think this interface is a pain, there is no way a novice who doesn't understand html will be able to edit their forms. You have to get it right in the form wizard without saving or getting booted out until you are completely finished, a task I was unable to accomplish.
It is also very unclear where to put the required fields on an intuitive level without reading through all of the forums and the outdated tutorial movies (if fields are required, why not put them in by default?). With a good interface an experienced person like me doesn't usually need to RTFM, let alone spend Hours trying to figure it out.
I did finally get it to work, but egad! What a ride! And how can we reduce the chance of them being flagged as junk?
Thanks
Hi webmystery,
Sorry you had a problem. As I posted, Max is re-writing some of this for the next release.
I agree with some of what you are saying and some of it is just experience.
I just tested and you can type ha. . . in a Submit tooltip without any problem. But, if you click on the butten when you try to select the field the wizard will submit and you lose the form (same happens if you hit enter).
There are no 'default fields' for a form - do you mean the email setup? There are current tutorials for that (and for the form wizard) in the Downloads area.
And how can you reduce the chance of what??? "being flagged as junk"
Bob
Thanks yes - I must have clicked the submit button so I could edit it .
Default fields - yes I mean the default email setup. I guess I've seen these as fields in CGI scripts. There is probably a more efficient way to handle this than a tutorial: If the user creates a form without setting these up, pop up a warning "The to, subject from and from email must be filled out under email setup for this form to work". There - I would have been done in 5 minutes what took me 45 min to figure out from the circuitous route of the forum and then the tutorials.
Flagged as junk: After I solved my missing email field problem I thought I still wasn't getting the mails - until I checked my junk folder. From the forum I gather this is pretty common. Usually mails can get flagged for things like having a lot of addresses in the BCC field. So I wondered what triggered my email client to think these were junk and if it is avoidable?
Anyhow, now that I got it working I'm happy with it and will probably purchase it for the project I'm working on. I would like to leave my customer with a more user friendly version, so I'm looking forward to the upgrade.
Thanks for the prompt reply - that is a good practice where a lot of other companies that write tools fail.
Hi webmystery,
I take the point on the default email set up. It would be good to have a message if the setup is incomplete or not applied first time around.
Emails being junked we can't do much about, though it is a frequent problem for various reasons. ChronoForms pretty much does what it is told and tries to send the email as instructed. After that there are a dozen pitfalls to fall into. I guess the best advice is to test as far as possible with 'known good' addresses and to make sure that they are white-listed with the test recipients. Once you know that the sending is working, then you can test with Dynamic To and from fields and the other bells and whistles. I think that there is a FAQ on this though it probably pre-dates this release.
Bob